All my love
by PardonThisMiss
Summary: AU A girl who falls into the library out of thin air changes the lives of people she comes into contact with. Irma Pince, Poppy Pomfrey and Albus Dumbledore primarily. Pathetic summary. IPOC ADMM PPAM
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, etc. etc.

Chapter 1

It had all started with Katherine. Though, in Irma's mind everything started with Katherine- everything in everyday somehow related to the girl. She had mostly forgotten life before the girl had come crashing down amongst her precious books.

It had been a Tuesday sometime in the summer of 1968 when it had happened. Irma was behind her desk, filling out forms for new books when a pop of something sounding suspiciously like apparition sounded. This was immediately followed by the thumping of books falling from their places on the shelf and ultimately the sound of a bookcase pounding against the ground with a resounding crash.

Swears against Peeves on the tip of her tongue, she went to investigate the damage. The Astronomy section was overturned and the fallen bookcase was on its side, the books on the floor before it. In the very center of the book chaos, which was nearly too much for Irma, lay a teenage girl. Her face was pressed against the ground and one arm was strewn over her stomach, the other at her side. Her skin was a ghastly shade of grey, her dark hair was a tangled mess and her paled blue jeans and soft white sweater were torn in many places thought not a trace of blood could be found. A brown rucksack was next to her, the strap falling over her arm. There was a clearly defined circle of floor around her where the books hadn't fallen.

Standing at the feet of the girls bent legs, Irma merely stared, finding something grotesque and almost insulting about the way the colors all looked so harsh against each other. The girl's face bothered her especially, as the lips were slightly red, and her particularly long and thick eyelashes were very black against the rim of her grey eye socket.

Irma's mind whirred, and she couldn't help but stare for a long moment, wondering what on earth to do. There was no such protocol for "girls falling from no where" filed away neatly in her analytical mind. _Don't move her,_ Irma heard a voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like her mother's tell her. She turned on her heel and ran to the doors of the library, and made straight for the Great Hall. There most of the staff was preparing for lunch. She made a beeline for Albus, tapping his shoulder and breathing a bit more harshly than was normal for her.

"Albus, there's a girl in the library- Poppy, you'll need to come as well." Irma murmured to both of them. Poppy looked at her quizzically, the mediwitch's hazel eyes losing a bit of their mirth as Albus rose to his feet and quickly preceded both of them out of the Great Hall. He hadn't paused to ask questions to Irma's surprise, as Poppy drilled her on their swift pace after him.

He already bowed over the girl when Irma and Poppy entered the library, breathing hard from their rush to keep pace with him. The Headmaster was spry, still very limber for his age- 128. Poppy peered at the girl in horror as Albus gently moved the bag off her arm and levitated her into the air.

"Poppy I believe she will need immediate medical attention. She appears to have lost a great deal of blood." Albus said calmly, indicating to one of the long thin holes in the girl's sweater.

"But there's no blood!" Irma protested immediately. She was confused, which vexed her as she rather prided herself on her ability to be knowledgeable in most situations. Albus picked up a strand of the girls hair and Irma gaped as drops of blood fell off it. Her hair was not naturally dark; it was sopping wet with blood. Irma took a step back as Poppy simultaneously took a step forward; being a mediwitch had given her an uncanny lack of squeamishness.

"I imagine you'll want to fix your library, Irma," Albus was grim faced, with out the usual sparkle in his eye. Irma did indeed wish to fix the library promptly. Disorder simply would not do, and despite her curiosity at this girl, her mind nagged at her to organize her books again. Albus dropped the piece of hair and he and Poppy strode out, leaving Irma to gaze after them and the girl they levitated with them for a long moment. When she came back to herself, she pulled out her wand and preformed a scouring charm and a second for good measure on the floor.

Her eyes fell on all the books and she hesitated a moment, debating on weather or not she should pick up the bag or fix her books first. Of course the first thing she did was wave her wand at the bookshelf to set it right again before waving her wand at the books which all rose into the air and gently reinstated themselves on the shelf. She then picked up the rucksack warily and made her way down to the Hospital Wing. It was brown, not dirty, but Irma would rather not touch it. It certainly wasn't hers, and the girls appearance certainly wasn't natural, even in the magical sense of the word.

That girl was grey. A grey girl, like the Grey Lady. Irma quite liked the Grey Lady, pleasant to chat with. Perhaps this girl was like that- she had that look about her. As if she were quiet. Though perhaps that was only her face while unconscious.

"Albus-" Irma stopped him in the doorway. "Who- how did she get here?" Albus had been on his way out the door and seemed to have stopped mid-step, looking at her with a rather grim expression.

"I do not know how she got here. Very powerful magic, perhaps." He paused, blue eyes meeting Irma's dark ones.

"What? But no one can apparate into Hogwarts- Albus!" she stopped him again as he had taken another step. "What happened- who is she?" Irma's mind was whirring with scenarios, and questions.

Irma would never remember his exact words when he had tried to tell her gently what had happened. All she knew was that Albus had questioned her 'Grey Girl' with veritaserum. The girl did now know how she came to Hogwarts. Nor did she know of magic except that her captor used a wand- though she did possess magic of her own. Someone unknown to Irma's Grey Girl had tormented her for and unknown length of time. She'd been raped, tortured, experimented on and psychologically damaged. Irma would never forget it, for in years to come she would be witness to the memories herself.

Albus looked at Irma with sadness in his light yet still bright eyes. Irma stared at him a long moment, opening her mouth to speak. "But- but…" she stopped. He smiled a small tired smile and patted her arm.

"We will know in good time Irma. I have things to get about." He went off down the hall, spry as ever though Irma had a suspicion that he was nearing a hundred-and-thirty. She went into the Hospital Wing and stared at Poppy who had obviously dropped onto the chair she sat in completely exhausted.

The mediwitch's eyes swiveled around to view Irma. "She's a asleep." Poppy said rather brusquely, conveying to Irma that Poppy did not want the girl seen, though when Irma thought about it perhaps Albus did not want her seen. "She lost a lot of blood." Poppy continued.

"How?" Irma asked, still confused at this as she had not seen a cut on the girl. Poppy shuddered, something the other woman had never expected to see her do.

"From what I gather of Albus' questioning," at this she looked slightly disgruntled that her patient had been questioned despite her state. "Whoever had- kidnapped her, was a very… well a nutter! Cut her to pieces, healed her, and then tried to drown her in her own blood. That's all she could remember." Irma hadn't even realized her mouth hung open with her face frozen in a look of disgust until Poppy told her to wipe it off.

"I have her bag…" Irma trailed off, glancing at the curtained bed. Poppy looked at the bag, then at Irma and gestured to her office. They went in silently, Irma placing the bag and Poppy's desk and sitting across from her. Irma pulled back the brass zipper along the top of the crescent shaped bag. She gently took each object out, one by one as Poppy watched.

A small blue hairbrush came out with a tube of black mascara, worn gold tube of lipstick which she opened to find a reddish-gold color curved in on one side from use. Along with those came a small disc of multiple colors of eye shadow, after Poppy had looked at it a moment to determine what it was. A small bottle of perfume came next which Poppy took from Irma and sprayed into the air between them. They both leaned in instinctively and sniffed the air. It was vanilla tinged with something flowery. A few colorful pens and a small notebook, which was empty, also came out of the bag, along with multiple packets of sugar which Irma and Poppy both raised eyebrows at. Almost last came a small paperback copy of Wuthering Heights, which to Irma's horror looked rather well worn. She pulled out her wand to attempt to clean the cover of the book and mend the tears but Poppy stopped her.

"It's not your book, Irma," she said softly. "I don't think she should know we've gone through her things.

Poppy reached in next and pulled out a black wallet, which was decorated with pink hearts along the spine. She did not hesitate to open it. 40 pounds fell out immediately, and as her long fingers probed into a pocket 4 American dollars and assorted other faded bills followed, including some South African rand, Russian rubles and Japanese yen. The two women mused over this for a while, questioning why the girl carried so much foreign currency in her wallet. They came up with few scenarios, but dismissed them as they continued in the wallet. There were pictures inside plastic casings, which Poppy thumbed through and studied before handing it to Irma.

The grey girl she had found was actually quite tan, and in the picture held a dazzling smile as she and a girl who looked almost identical to her save a bit smaller sat atop an elephant. An elephant. What on earth was she doing with an elephant? Perhaps that would explain the rand. Next was a school picture of the younger girl, and a picture of a black and white cat sprawled against a lime green shag carpet. Another picture was Irma's girl in a formal gown of vivid green standing with an older woman- both who were looking at each other with what Irma would come to call 'the look of love'. The last picture was a family picture with the two girls, a man and a woman, presumably the parents. All four of them looked as if they had been posed, and neither of the girls looked very happy. She has a family.

It was an ironic twist to Irma's thought process. She had imagined the girl to be some not-quite-human-being, when she apparently had a family, perhaps a little sister. Irma was struck by the cord this struck in her. She herself had an younger sister. They were as different as night and day, but if anything had ever happened to her sister, Irma might have very well panicked.

She glanced at Poppy, who was silent, pensive. In the pocket on the opposite side from the foreign currency was a library card, which Irma removed. It read "Redding Library" across the top. Along the bottom in a place obviously meant for signatures where a bubbly handwriting had written out a first and last name.

_Katherine Rowsch._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Katherine Rowsch," Irma murmured, holding out the card to Poppy. She stood up and moved away from the mediwitch, silently reentering the Hospital Wing and moving over to the bed. Pulling back the curtain Irma's eyes fell upon the pale form of the girl.

She'd been laid out like it was her funeral, and her skin instead of being grey was just a deathly shade of white, nearly as white as the sheets she laid on. Katherine's hair was not dark as the guardian of the books had originally thought, but a brownish-red, which Irma's sister would later squeal was: "Auburn! Beautiful, beautiful auburn!" However, Irma didn't really care about hair color, but it was an interesting contrast against the white sheets and contrast fascinated her. Poppy had apparently brushed it and pulled it back so it lay in gentle waves on the pillow, the only thing of color as even Katherine's lips had gone pale.

"It can't be healthy," the librarian mused to herself. Her colleague was at her shoulder before Irma could react. Her brown eyes slid from the pale little girl to the shorter woman at her side. Irma looked down on her from quite a few inches. "Well?"

"Well, what do you propose I do? Get away from here, she needs rest." The mediwitch had a grip on Irma's arm and was trying to guide her away rather forcibly. The librarian realized that Poppy had not been able to fix the girl in an instant, which was something of a obscurity- Poppy could mend bones and bruises in seconds, so something much more sinister must have been at play. Poor girl, Irma thought sadly as she looked at the little thing. Her clavicle was sticking out from above the neckline of the hospital robes she'd been changed into. The girl had probably been starved, which made Irma feel a little sick. She herself loved food, perhaps a little too much for the weight that was in fashion.

"Well," the word came much harsher from her lips than Irma intended, "What's going to be done with her?" She stood her ground, which seemed to irritate the witch who dropped her arm and merely glared, hand on her hip.

"I imagine Albus will find her parents and send her back to them. With wards and the sort." Poppy shrugged, giving off an air of not caring too much. "Now will you kindly step out-"

"When will she wake up?" Irma asked, cutting her off. Some vindictive part of her got a secret thrill out of irritating Poppy as much as she could. Perhaps it was Irma's teenage rebellion forty years late.

"I'm not sure. Tonight or tomorrow morning?" Poppy shrugged her shoulders, eyes drifting over to the girl's pale face again. Poppy wasn't the sort to be concerned with what happened to the girl after she left the Hospital Wing, only her health. Perhaps a sort of defense mechanism, Irma mused, not to get too attached, as the teenager would leave soon.

"I want to stay," Irma said suddenly, not really knowing herself why she wanted to stay. Perhaps it was because she was bored, and she simply wanted something to do other than return to the empty library. Poppy looked at her a long moment, and Irma knew she could win an argument if Poppy had any objections. After all, words were her forte.

Albus Dumbledore sat up in his office well past midnight for the second night in a row, piles of papers covering his desk along with various books as he sifted through all of them in turn, occasionally writing on a scroll, which laid open on the cluttered desk.

There was a brusque knock at the door and he waved his wand at it, the door opening to reveal his Deputy Headmistress. Minerva McGonagall looked to be in a fine temper, her glasses on the end of her nose and her lips tightly compressed. Lack of sleep had her usually sharp eyes clouded just barely and the lines under her eyes were more pronounced.

"Albus, there are no reports in wizarding or Muggle records of a Rowsch family in or around London, let alone a Katherine Rowsch." Minerva looked at him with a tired expression. "Are you positive she is…" she trailed off, looking even more perplexed.

Albus sighed, setting down his quill and folding his hands on his desk. "I was afraid that is what you would report Minerva." He gestured for her to sit down in a large comfortable armchair he conjured up. "It would seem our mysterious young guest who has arrived here under even more mysterious circumstances can not be sent back to a family of any kind."

"Albus, she must be reported to the Ministry." Minerva said in a serious tone, looking at him. His blue eyes met hers and he smiled serenely, seeming to have anticipated this sort of response from her.

"It is a matter I have contemplating all evening, my dear. However, I believe it would be best to keep Miss Rowsch here, at Hogwarts." Albus said calmly, pulling a small pouch from his pocket and offering it's contents to her.

"No, thank you." Minerva stuck out her hand to decline the jellybeans. "Stay here? Albus, there must be laws of some sort in the wizarding world about lost children. She isn't yet of age and the Ministry will be sure to want something with her,"

"I realize all of this, however, I am certain it would be allowed for her to stay in the school. Her education needs to be furthered, as she has had none so far, and moreover, I believe she should remain in the place she has come." Albus said in a very calm voice.

"How could this have happened? Tell me it again," Minerva had heard his theory time and time again in the past few days but still had trouble believing it.

"When this school was founded there was a charm placed on it to prevent people from apparating inside. Helga Hufflepuff, however, was concerned that children in need would not be able to enter this place. It has been known that children who are untrained in magic can apparate with out knowing how if only to save their lives. There are also rumors that Hufflepuff succeeded in making the castle's anti-apparition charms bend for children that are in danger, looking for a safe haven."

Minerva opened her mouth a moment and then closed it with a sigh. They looked at each other for a long time before she opened her mouth again. "I suppose you will be making some sort of record of her to placate the Ministry?"

Albus smiled. "Yes, I do believe I will."

"Where has she come from Albus? Who would harm a young girl in that way?" Minerva asked, her brow wrinkling. It was the same question they had asked each other the night before, still unanswered.

"I hope to learn that in good time. When Poppy deems Miss Rowsch ready to be spoken with. With her permission I also hope to be privy to some memories that may lead us to her attacker." He closed his fingers around another jellybean and popped it into his mouth.

"I'll trust your judgment," Minerva's brow quirked, something Albus recognized as evidence of her fiery temper abating.

"As I trust yours, my dear." He gave a rather cheeky smile and rose to his feet. "However, it is well past the usual time I retire, as I assume for you as well. Allow me to walk you to your rooms and bid you good night." Albus took her arm and a smile graced the corners of her lips as she allowed him to lead her to her rooms.

Poppy had run diagnostic charm after charm, and the outcome wasn't as good as she'd have liked. The mediwitch was in a fine mood, considering that Irma had taken up residence near the girl's bed. It was mostly curiosity that kept Irma there. After all, it wasn't everyday that girls fell into the library out of thin air. Another small part of it was the obligation Irma felt- the girl had fallen into her library, and therefore in some abstract way had registered in Irma's mind as her responsibility.

Katherine had already been there two days, going on a third, and she hadn't so much as moved. Irma had been mildly interested in watching Poppy levitate the girl's head up a few inches, and gently open her mouth to feed her small bits of potion on a three-hour basis.

"Blood replenishing, nutrients… she's very malnourished." Poppy would mutter to herself more than Irma. Irma had gotten used to the mediwitch ignoring her after they'd thrown a few sharp words back and fourth. Poppy was increasingly vexed at her inability to instantly cure the girl and send her on her merry way, and Irma was vexed that Poppy couldn't awaken the girl so she herself could get back to her library. There was something too white and too clean about the Hospital Wing that made her feel uneasy.

That day, Irma had picked up Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to reread, trying to imagine the exact facial expressions as she read as a means to make the book more embedded in her mind. Brutus had just stabbed his friend when she looked up from her book to see grey eyes flecked with green blinking at her, rather close to where her book had been in air.

She started, a near vile word escaping her lips as a product of shock, and the girl pulled back from all fours onto her knees, looking terrified of Irma where moments ago she had looked merely curious. Poppy was out of her office in an instant, giving a surprised squeak.

"Oh! You're awake." Poppy straightened her robes and took out her wand. Katherine's eyes snapped to it and she watched her warily, blinking and not making a sound. Poppy gently sat on the edge of the bed. "Hello Miss Rowsch, I'm Madam Pomfrey, a mediwitch. How are you feeling?"

Irma watched this exchange; the slightly younger woman's agitated but vaguely playful banter of the past two days fading and being replaced with gentle tones underlying efficient words. The girl was on edge, like a kitten sprayed with the garden hose. It was the wand, Irma realized as Katherine's eyes flickered to it again.

Katherine did not speak, and Poppy cast a diagnostic charm on the girl, giving her a curious glance. The girl jumped and Poppy held out a hand as if to touch her.

"It's a diagnostic charm. It will not harm you. Madam Pomfrey is comparable to a doctor." Irma said suddenly, as it occurred to her that since the girl hadn't been privy to the wizarding world except through a madman who had used magic against her, she would not understand that Poppy had her best interests at heart.

The girl nodded slowly, turning her- what Irma could only describe as eerie and shadowed- eyes to her. Poppy also looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you, Irma. We'll be checking up on Miss Rowsch right now. Please go fetch Albus." The mediwitch said this rather icily. She wasn't muggleborn, and as Irma was dying to point out, probably did not understand in any way shape or form this girls confusion. However, she managed to send out a civil remark, a vague hope for Katherine's health, and went on her way.

Irma trailed slowly down and then up to Albus' office doors after muttering: "Jellybean." She knocked a little too loudly and glared at her fist as the door opened. Albus sat at his desk, looking a little weary but pleased to see her nonetheless.

"Katherine Rowsch is awake and a one Poppy Pomfrey requests your presence in the Hospital Wing." She said this in a rather dull tone, amusement at their old time joke in her eyes. It somehow always worked out that when Irma had news to tell him, which she deemed important, it would come out in a very monotone voice and rather unusual wording.

On cue, Albus looked up, blue eyes twinkling, "I shall see what I can do, Madam Pince." He mimicked her toneless voice and rose to his feet. Irma smiled a small smile and nodded to him, on her way back to the library.

Irma didn't think much about Katherine Rowsch in the next few hours before dinner. She skipped lunch, opting to work more on filling out order forms for new books instead. Her thoughts turned traitorous, however, and a slight worry in the back of her mind nagged at her. The girl was alone, in a place she didn't belong in, obviously terrified. She shook her head, deciding to go down to supper and see what Albus intended to do with Katherine.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Minerva watched Albus explain to the staff what had happened and what action would be taken. They'd decided (on Poppy's demands) that the girl needed to remain in the Hospital Wing for quite sometime. Apparently, she was nearly catatonic, and Poppy had mentioned something about Post Traumatic Stress disorder.

Whatever that meant, Minerva didn't particularly care. All she knew was that Katherine was traumatized beyond words. Albus had tried very gently to get her to speak to them, but she would only open her mouth and make no sound. The girl had struck a cord with Minerva: she behaved like a cat. There wasn't a real reason this occurred to Minerva, it was simply the shape of her eyes and maybe a little bit in her stance. Katherine did have amazing reflexes- Poppy had tried to rest a hand on her shoulder and she'd moved faster then Minerva had ever seen anyone move. And after Albus and Minerva had left Poppy's office to speak with her privately, Katherine was curled up like a kitten on her bed, asleep.

"We are hoping that with time she will regain a stable mentality," Albus finished, serene as ever. Minerva smiled slightly at him. He'd always been good about giving information that was particularly bizarre. She had worried that if she had helped explain she might throw in some choice adjectives about how strange the situation was.

"What will become of her afterwards?" Babette Vector questioned. The wispy white-haired witch was adept as ever in finding faults in plans, which was probably due to her amazing Arithmancy abilities. Babette had always been that way, rather skeptical of everything and rather maternal towards the younger students. That was, in Minerva's mind, because she did not have to teach most of them.

"She will begin her schooling at Hogwarts and then when she has finished will be released into the wizarding world when she is of age." Horace Slughorn seemed to be satisfied by this and wasn't particularly curious about this girl. After all, if she was catatonic, how could she ever achieve greatness?

"What about finances? And she'll need a legal guardian. And- without a family Albus?" James Aisiling was one to think of the details. The sandy-haired Muggle Studies professor was amiable enough, but he was prone to over think situations.

"I'll be her legal guardian." Irma piped up suddenly. The entire table turned to look at her. Irma never spoke at the breakfast table, unless someone else spoke to her. It wasn't that she was unfriendly, it was simply that she was slightly socially inept. Irma herself didn't know why she'd said what she had. Perhaps it was because she considered herself indirectly responsible for the girl since she had appeared in her library. However, she did feel she was the best candidate for adopting the girl at the table.

Babette was old, much too old to look after a girl. Albus simply had too many enemies that would very likely use the girl against him. In the same respect, both he and Minerva would hardly have time for a child, being as they were Headmaster and Deputy of the school. Horace was something no one would wish on a child, especially if he happened to deem them unworthy of his little club. And James… well, James was probably a decent candidate, but Irma highly doubted he would know what to do with a young girl.

"Very noble thing for you to offer, Irma," Albus nodded his head slightly. "However, I do believe we should wait for a decision from Miss Rowsch herself before taking any action. Her finances will come from a fund the school has for students who don't have enough money to attend Hogwarts."

"How do you know she'll ever make a decision?" Horace asked, raising an eyebrow. "She's incapable now, what's to keep her from staying that way?" he queried. Irma wanted to slap him, and the wild notion crossed her mind that she could indeed, but it would be moot. It was a valid point, but she loathed in nonetheless.

"She will." James said simply, sparing a glance at Irma. He appeared to have realized she was a bomb ready to go off. Irma nodded slightly at him as a form of thanks. He knew her all too well.

Meanwhile, Poppy was in the Hospital Wing, directing a house elf to set a laden breakfast tray in front of Katherine. The girl was propped up in bed on Poppy's orders. The mediwitch believed that perhaps Katherine needed some more rest, more for her mentality than anything did. She'd been tortured, it made perfect sense that she'd be quiet, being so traumatized. Severe cases of post-traumatic stress disorder could manifest themselves as loss of voice, and intense fears of their own voice.

"Now Katherine, you must eat all your breakfast," Poppy sat down on the edge of the bed, began cutting the girl's sausage into pieces, and spread some butter and marmalade on her toast. "Get up your strength, love," she smiled affectionately. The man who had held the girl had apparently had no qualms about destroying the girl's mental state. Thanks to that, she'd reverted into a child much younger then what Poppy guessed was fourteen years, and young children needed affection.

Poppy watched as the girl very carefully and very slowly ate her breakfast, making mental notes along the way. She hoped to take the girl to the staff meals, in hopes of showing her that no one there meant her any harm but keeping extreme amounts of human contact to a minimum. It would be a controlled environment and therefore Poppy suspected good for Katherine.

The days passed, and Katherine began looking much more alert. She was beginning to realize that perhaps these people had no ill will towards her. Poppy would chatter incessantly to her, doing this or that in the Hospital Wing and attempting to get the girl to respond. Occasionally Katherine would nod her head slowly or look completely bewildered when she mentioned magic. Albus came down on a daily basis, just after lunch to speak with her. He was amazing at keeping the conversation afloat on his own, telling stories and explaining assorted things in the magical world to her. He always had Katherine's rapt attention and on occasion managed to get a smile to tremble on the ends of the girl's lips.

"I want to explain to you where you are, Katherine," Poppy paused, sitting on the end of the bed one day. "This is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Witches and wizards are brought here at age 11 to study and learn to control their magic. It was founded by Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. They each have a house named after them, which students are sorted into in their first year. Hufflepuff is the best, naturally," Poppy glanced at her sideways and smiled a wry smile. "Though I suppose Irma- the woman who was here when you awoke- would tell you it's Ravenclaw and others would tell you the other houses."

A few more days passed, and a week and a half after she'd arrived, Poppy deemed Katherine ready to attend breakfast. The girl still didn't speak, but her face was more and more expressive and Poppy thought that perhaps someone who had stayed the summer on staff might quirk a smile out of her.

Poppy lead Katherine down to breakfast, watchful gaze on the girl's face as she stared with very wide eyes at the portraits and other things in the castle. The Grey Lady floated through the hall ahead of them and the poor thing turned pale white, obviously shocked.

"Yes, we have ghosts here. That's the Grey Lady, Ravenclaw's ghost," Poppy explained calmly as they entered the Great Hall. All eyes turned to them. Horace, James, Babette and Irma were already at the table.

"Hello Katherine," Irma said boldly as Poppy pulled out a chair in front of Irma for Katherine. Her grey-green eyes met Irma's briefly, looking slightly relieved to see one familiar face. Poppy introduced everyone at the table and smiled slightly as Albus and Minerva entered the room.

"Good morning, Miss Rowsch," Minerva said easily, slipping into place on the other side of the girl. Albus sat down next to Minerva and then peered over at Katherine as if she were of particular interest.

"Well, Miss Rowsch, a pleasant surprise," he smiled a friendly smile at her. Katherine smiled a little, staring down at the plate that Poppy was busily filling with food. In the back of her mind, Irma wondered if it were possible for the girl to consume that much. Babette, on the contrary, hoped the girl could eat more and put some weight on her. Why else would those eyes be so very large except for the fact that she was much, much too thin?

Horace regarded the girl over his breakfast, watching her sprinkle a generous amount of salt onto the eggs Poppy had forcibly shoveled onto her plate. He couldn't understand the timorous girl, and since it wasn't an immediate understanding, he didn't care about her. She was too timid to ever make anything of herself, he decided as she nibbled the eggs and shyly met Irma's ever-watchful gaze from across the table.

James, on the other hand, immediately wanted the girl to feel welcome into the group. He was worried almost with out realizing it. Most of the teenage girls he dealt with were hyperactive chatterboxes and this one seemed- not broken but in need of batteries. She was not talking at all. Probably nervous, he decided, as not a word of Poppy's warnings had sunk in with him.

"So how do you like the castle, Katherine?" James asked amiably, opting for her first name since she wasn't a student and he wouldn't have to be formal with her. "Had a chance to explore it yet?"

Katherine shook her head solemnly, glancing at Poppy a moment as if asking permission to respond. The mediwitch was watching the girl and James as she spread butter on a muffin, keeping an eye on the situation in general. She would never let her patient get too uncomfortable.

"Ah! I can fix that! I'll take you sometime to see everything." He smiled as he spread generous amount Bovril on his toast. Irma watched the entire exchange, seeing how Katherine referred to Poppy for practically every motion. Again, her inexplicable urge to counter authority seemed to kick in and she had stirrings across her mind about getting Katherine away from the witch.

"We'll see," Poppy said calmly, to Irma's further annoyance. The tone that Poppy had said it was rather discouraging to Irma and James and seemed to show that the medi-witch did not intend to let the girl out of her sight.

"The ceiling here reflects the weather outdoors, Katherine, and it looks to be a beautiful day," Albus glanced up at the ceiling as he poured himself another glass of pumpkin juice, eyes twinkling merrily. "Do you mind if I call you Katherine?" he added as an afterthought, smiling serenely at her. Katherine looked at him, barely meeting his eyes and shaking her head with a tiny smile. "Marvelous," he went back to his pumpkin juice.

There was a dim chatter through out every breakfast after that, which seemed to amuse Katherine. She would finish all the food Poppy had piled onto her plate and sit back sipping a glass of cranberry juice, watching the adults. The other adults made several small attempts at conversation and Katherine would merely nod or shake her head, occasionally mouthing the word yes or no but never making a sound.

Irma watched Katherine watching everyone a good two weeks after she'd arrived, finally finding someone else at breakfast who was not constantly talking very refreshing. Though Poppy had said she thought the girl might be a bit sub intelligent, Irma thought otherwise. She gave a sardonic smile and gently stretched her leg out to tap the girl's knee with her toe. Katherine's eerie eyes snapped up at her in a look of question, quashing any doubts that she had slow reflexes. Irma glanced at James, who was spitting out another one of his questionable theories about goblins and rolled her eyes. She had attempted to convey that she thought him ridiculous. Katherine smiled her tiny smile, apparently amused by this, and she nodded very slightly. The librarian let a smile slip fourth as well, having proved her theory that Katherine was quite able to comprehend things.

Irma went back to her breakfast with a satisfied smile, thoughts stirring on how to tell the medi-witch in a nice enough, yet still somewhat nasty way, that Katherine was indeed still compus mentus. She thought at first she imagined the small tap on her shin, but when she looked up to find Katherine's eyes fixed on her she tilted her head in question. The poor girl was the picture of nervousness, looking quite like a student who had just interrupted a rather frightening teacher to ask a question. The girl's eyes floated over to the pitcher of cranberry juice, which Horace had moved farther down the table to make room for the coffee. Irma understood immediately- much to her own surprise.

"Pass the cranberry juice, please." She said to Horace as he genially handed it to her. Irma speaking at the table was a rare occurrence so it had garnered the attention of the other morning patrons. She immediately passed it to Katherine to everyone's astonishment.

"Thank you." Katherine's voice was barely above a whisper and Irma would often wonder if she had imagined the whole sound of it. Color rose in the girl's cheeks as everyone blatantly stared at her. James was grinning from ear to ear and Horace's mouth hung open. Irma smiled, digging herself back into her breakfast at Poppy's look of disbelief in her own direction.

"Good for you, Miss Rowsch!" Minerva broke the silence with her hearty words of approval and a thin smile. Katherine's eyes were on her and a fleeting expression of thanks crossed her face as she watched the woman and everyone else return to their breakfast.

Poppy whisked the girl from the room before Irma could politely break away from conversation with Horace who was on about some book he'd read in the library. Fifteen minutes later breakfast was wrapping up. She frowned, making her way down to the Hospital Wing at a brisk pace, and her frown deepened when she saw Katherine staring at the window, sitting cross-legged on her bed, lost in thought.

"Poppy." Irma went into her office with out bothering the girl. Who was she to interrupt such a deep thought process? Poppy was behind her desk, scribbling furiously at a sheet of paper which Irma knew was Katherine's record. The mediwitch's eyes were on Irma's face, resentment mixed in with the usual fervor.

"May I help you Irma?" she asked rather acidly. The librarian sighed, looking down at the woman at her desk, who was tapping her quill on the table irritably.

"I'm taking Katherine to the library. We're not coming back till lunch." Irma said firmly, with conviction.

"Pardon?" Poppy sputtered, shock open on her face. Irma turned away with a satisfied smile, walking over to the girl and touching her gently on the arm. Katherine flinched, but turned her head and looked at the woman.

"Come on Katherine. We're leaving for a while." Katherine blinked at the words, looking over her shoulder at Poppy who stormed over, looking livid.

"The library?" Poppy hissed, pulling Irma back into her office with a force. Katherine merely sat on her bed, and Irma watched the girl jump when Poppy slammed the office door shut behind her.

"Irma!" the mediwitch was livid, obviously fighting for composure. "She cannot have any sarcasm! She is- she's got to be shown constant affection. You are not an affectionate person! She'll get the wrong idea from us- you'll terrify her more!"

"I will make myself affectionate." Irma argued, on her toes, both literally and figuratively. Poppy threw up her hands, infuriated.

"No Irma! You cannot possibly be warm and sweet to her! You'll scare her into- she's my patient!" the words were getting shriller and more wrought with emotion by the moment. Irma turned on her heel and opened the door again, making her way out. "You can't take her! She's my patient!" Poppy screeched, furious.

Katherine still sat on the bed, her eyes wide and on both women. Irma almost growled under her breath. "She couldn't just let me take Katherine out with out a fight, could she? The girl's terrified out of her mind now." Irma thought furiously.

"She's a girl! Not your patient!" Irma spun around to glare down at the witch who almost ran smack into her. She spared a glance at Katherine, whose lips had compressed at Poppy's words. "She's a brilliant girl whose mind is wasting away sitting here day in and out. You're destroying her mentally!"

"She can do anything she likes Irma-" Poppy's face had suddenly lost all traces of anger, and instead she looked rather sick. "You can," she looked at Katherine helplessly with an apologetic tone in her voice. Katherine merely stared at her, saying nothing.

"Good bye," Irma said in a slightly higher pitched voice, talking Katherine's hand and pulling the girl to her feet. The girl looked a bit leery, like she'd like to go hide in the corner rather than be near either witch, though she followed Irma as the woman sailed past Poppy. "We'll be back for lunch."

"Keep her safe!" Poppy cried as they reached the doors, as if she could think of nothing else.

"Naturally," Irma called over her shoulder, gentling her hold on Katherine's hand. The teenager didn't glance back, merely stared at her feet and let Irma lead her down the halls, away from the Hospital Wing. It struck Irma as strange, seeming to her that the girl allowed Irma to lead her blindly. The more she thought about it the more her self-esteem went up, thinking to herself that perhaps it was sign that Katherine trusted her in some way, shape, or form.

They walked further down the hall, up a staircase and further through the halls. Katherine's eyes progressively looked up and she stared in unabashed wonder at the portraits, which moved and chattered on their own accord. Irma watched in a slight amusement, still holding onto the girl's hand, which she decided was best. It allowed her to guide the girl and make sure she was still there. Irma had the incomprehensible thought that Katherine would simply cease to exist, most likely because of her sudden entrance into the world.

Irma thought rather angrily of Poppy's words. "I most certainly can be affectionate," she thought furiously. Katherine's eyes were still wide with wonder, and Irma couldn't help but smile. She gently squeezed Katherine's hand and the girl looked at her, a slow smile spreading languidly over her face.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice undoubtedly cutting through the air as they reached the doors of the library.

"No trouble at all," Irma murmured in response, placing a gentle hand on Katherine's shoulder and opening the door for her.

"What sorts of books do you like, Katherine?" Irma asked, finally releasing the girl's hand as they came into the library. Katherine looked at her, expression faltering into something a little bit more timid. Wrong question, Irma thought to herself. "Well, here's the history section," Irma pointed out each section and turned to look at her. "Find books you like… and check out enough to keep you for a week or so…" she let the unsaid words hang in the air between them: Poppy may not let the girl back for a while. Katherine nodded slowly, seeming to have caught this.

"I'll be doing paper work," Irma gestured to her desk. The girl nodded again and Irma left her, going to her desk, quill ready to write, head bent but eyes up, watching. Katherine looked at her for a moment and slowly, seemingly floated into the shelves. Irma watched for a while, waiting to see if she'd reappear quickly. She didn't, so Irma lost herself in paper work.

Her thoughts wandered from her work when she debated on equipping the Restricted Section with Vindictus Viridian's latest work. The man was pure evil in Irma's mind and she didn't know how anyone could be like that. In fact, how could anyone do anything to Katherine, that quite and very damaged girl- where was she?

Irma rose to her feet and paced the shelves, looking for the girl, half expecting not to find her. But there she was, curled up on the floor with Hogwarts: A History on her lap and looking particularly wide-eyed. Katherine's very thin fingers were extremely gentle as she turned each page of the book and Irma's heart went out to her. A child treating books properly was a rare one indeed. At that very moment Katherine was a keeper.


End file.
